1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to illuminated surgical retractors.
2. Description of Related Art
Existing technology for illumination during surgical medical procedures includes overhead illumination. This illumination comes from either overhead lighting or head mounted fiber optic systems. Traditional overhead lighting systems face numerous limitations. A direct exposure of the field from the overhead source is required. Changes in patient or surgeon positioning may interfere with the light source. Frequent adjustments provide an inconvenience for the surgeon and disrupt the surgical flow. Overhead lighting is frequently inadequate for surgery in deeper cavities where more intense focused illumination may be required. In addition, the alignment of the surgeon's head frequently interferes with the remote illumination and prevents light from reaching the field. Head mounted fiber optic systems are used frequently for more limited surgical exposures. However, these devices have numerous limitations. First, the surgeon is tethered by the light cord attached to the headset, limiting the mobility in the operating room. Second, the devices are associated with head and neck fatigue with frequent or prolonged use. Third, the devices require the surgeon to maintain a steady head and neck position to provide a constant and steady illumination of the field. Fourth, the use of remote light sources and fiber bundles introduces tremendous inefficiencies into the system. A typical ten-foot long cable will lose by approximately 10% per foot of cable for a 300-watt light source, which results in much lower illumination than desired.
Other existing technology for illumination during surgical/medical procedures includes lighted surgical retractors. These retractors include integral or attached light sources which project light locally down the retractor blade. Existing lighted surgical retractors overcome the problems with overhead illumination but still suffer from several shortcomings. These retractors can generally be classified into two categories. The first category includes those with detachable light sources. This category allows the retractor to be re-used and therefore the retractor must be sterilized prior to re-use. Characteristics of most light sources are not compatible with many sterilization procedures. For example, it is uncommon for batteries to carry out high temperature sterilization. It is also difficult to completely remove organic material from light source assemblies. To overcome these difficulties, lighted surgical retractors with detachable light sources were created. These light sources are releasably attached to the retractor via tape or other adhesive or clip on mechanism. This class of lighted surgical retractors requires assembly prior to use and disassembly, cleaning, and sterilization after use. Such assembly, disassembly, cleaning, and sterilization represent significant time, cost, and inefficiency for the user.
The second category of lighted surgical retractors was created that consists of surgical retractors with light sources that are integrated into the retractor and are not removable. These lighted surgical retractors contain a power source in the retractor handle, an illumination device built into, or permanently attached to the blade, and some form of optical or electrical coupling between the power source and the illumination device. The power source can be batteries or a device that will plug into the wall. It could also be an optical power source that generates optical energy instead of electrical energy. The illumination device is either one or more light emitting diodes, a fiber optic cable or an optical waveguide. The form of coupling is either wiring for an electrical connection, or a fiber optic cable or optical waveguide for optical coupling. This second category of lighted surgical retractors eliminates the problem of assembly and disassembly that the first category of surgical retractors suffers from. This second class of retractors still suffers from difficulty in cleaning and sterilization. Also, the techniques involved in integrating light source components into the handle and blade are generally costly. Recent evidence is emerging that procedures for cleaning and sterilization are often flawed in practice, resulting in possible cross contamination of patients. These deficiencies have prevented a widespread adoption of this second category of lighted surgical retractors.
The present disclosure will describe a new class of lighted surgical retractors that does not suffer from these known deficiencies. The present disclosure completely eliminates the risk of cross contamination by insuring that each retractor can be only used once. The present disclosure eliminates the costly electrical or optical interconnect systems required of previous disclosures. The present disclosure eliminates the requirement of assembly, disassembly, cleaning, and re-sterilization by the end user.